Battles

Exeter Temple message notes

Sunday 16^th March 2014
Bible Reading:            Exodus 17:8-16
Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. We know that Esau as the firstborn had a valuable birth right but one day when he was physically hungry he exchanged it with his brother Jacob for a bowl of lentils. The bible says he despised his birth right.
Later he was also tricked into losing his father’s blessing to Jacob and this meant he had to go out and build his own inheritance. He was successful and created a dynasty. He had a son Eliphaz who had a son called Amalek. The Israelites were descendants of Jacob and the Amalekites the descendants of Esau. 
The origins of each dynasty, lead to two very different approaches towards culture and destiny.  The Israelites, when they are not busy grumbling see themselves a people, called into being by God, dependent upon him, rescued from slavery and on a journey to fulfilment of God’s plan and purpose for them as a people.  The Amalekites on the other hand are a people who have forged their own way; they have what they have because they have grabbed it and made it theirs.  Theirs is a culture of self-reliance.  Deuteronomy tells us that they had no fear of God. 
1. Sign up for the battle
In the desert the two opposing cultures came to blows.
In the world today, we face a choice between two opposing ways of living life, of culture and destiny.  Are we a people, with a sense of calling by God to belong to him, to look to him for salvation, purpose and direction?  This is the way we choose, if we choose to follow Jesus. Or do we live life to please our own dreams, driven by our own ambition and reliant upon our own human plans and skills to bring them into being. 
It is our version of the battle of the Israelites with the Amalekites. This passage of scripture is a passage of firsts. It is the first battle Israel fought. It is the first mention of the Amalekites and the first mention of Joshua.
The first battle we fight as Christians is the battle within us, the battle of the worldly thinking against spiritual thinking.
In v9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out and fight the Amalekites.
The church is often so weak because its members have not dealt with the part of them which is antagonistic to relying upon God and not on self. There is a part of me that loves God and spiritual things. But there is another part of me that hates the things of God. There is a part of me that wants to read my Bible and a part that says read something else. There is a part of me that says Pray and another part that says don’t bother.
It is interesting that Deuteronomy tells us that the Amalekites method was to pick off those who lagged behind.  Why were they lagging behind?  Who knows but at a guess I would say it was because they were distracted and pre-occupied with something other than the journey they were supposed to be on.
Having fallen prey to the Amalekites once, Moses was not prepared to let it go at that. He knew that they must be dealt with decisively.
Some of our biggest problems are because we won’t go into the battlefield to fight. In other words we want to avoid the issues. But although God will win victories for us he won’t win them without us being engaged with him in them.
2. Rally round the banner 
V9b “Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.
All battles need someone at the top of the hill. Moses rod raised in the air was a sign of his leadership and his authority under God. When the rod was raised, the Israelites started gaining ground, when it was lowered they began to lose ground.
This would all seem foolish to the Amalekites. Can you imagine their army joking? “Why on earth is he holding a stick in the air? Do they think a piece of wood will save them?
But that is exactly what they thought.  When they saw the rod of Moses the Israelites remembered how he had used it to defeat Pharoah’s magicians and how when he had raised it over the Red Sea they had passed through it on dry ground.
It might look foolish but they knew that whilst there was no power in the rod itself, it symbolises God’s power.
God also saves us through a piece of wood. We call it a cross. It is foolishness to some but to those who believe it is the power of God for our salvation. In this battle against relying upon ourselves, the devil might tell us we are fools but our answer lies in looking to the victory of the cross. When we look to the cross we remember we could do nothing to release ourselves from the bondage of sin, just as the Israelites couldn’t get through the Red Sea without God using Moses rod. We start to realise again that it is God who will see us through this battle too. 
The determining factor in this battle was not which side had the better army or the greater military strategy. The determining factor was whether or not Moses could hold up his hands.
This incident is was a lesson for Moses and all of Israel that they had to come in subjection and humility before God, relying on him and him alone. Only when Moses held up his arms – as if calling on God and surrendering himself to God could God act. When he forgot about God or grew weary and dropped his arms God was not able to work.
God is always there to help us. He will do the fighting for us if only we are open to him and rely on him.
Holding up one’s hands was a symbol of appeal to God for help and enablement. It means prayer. The action on the hill top determined the outcome of the action in the valley . The real spiritual success or failure of a church will not be the talent of the leaders or the size of the congregation. God’s message was this.  In our spiritual conflicts the outcome is not determined by what is seen on the field of battle but rather what happens in the place of prayer.
After the battle was over and won Moses set up an altar and called it Jehovah Nissi which means “The Lord is my banner.” 
A banner even now is a standard that bears the colours by which a military unit is identified. The flag has no power in itself, it signifies that the soldiers who are fighting have behind them the authority power and resources of the person, the nation or the organisation name upon it.
If we are Christians we can fly God’s flag or banner because we have at our disposal all of God’s authority, power and resources.
In our battles of which the first is the battle against our own worldliness God does and is providing us with his banner. He is your banner, he is my banner, he is our banner. We need to rally behind it. If we lock him out of our life and fly our own flag he can’t work.
3. Keeping the flag flying   
In the battle against the Amalekites, Moses became Israel’s focal point and whilst they kept their eyes on him and his shepherds rod was raised the Israelites prevailed but when his arms fell they were losing.
So what could they do?  First they got a seat for him and Aaron and Hur held his hands up so that he hands remained steady until sunset.
This reminds us too of how Jesus needed his disciples to pray with him in Gethsemene. Can you imagine that if the Son of God needed his disciples to pray for him how much more we need intercessors to pray for us?
Why are we so often struggling with our spiritual battles? Why don’t we win the battle of the flesh at times?  Why don’t we want to even engage in dealing with our inner issues sometimes?  We like Moses often plan to go to the hilltop to lift our hands in prayer but we don’t always do it.
Why not?
It is often because we are trying to go it alone. Moses was not so foolish. He took his friends with him Aaron and Hur with him.
T - Together
E – Everyone
A - Achieves
M - More
We are too embarrassed or too ashamed to ask our church family to help with our battle.
Unfortunately, the enemy wins way too many battles because we don’t help each other on the battlefield. Galatians 6:2 (NIV) Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
God bless
Carol